Baku trial was a farce, Yerevan’s silence is dangerous: Mesrop Arakelyan

The family of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan announced today that he has decided not to appeal the verdict of the Baku court, which sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

In an interview with Aysor.am, Vardanyan’s associate and co-founder of the “Land to Live” party, Mesrop Arakelyan, said the entire trial process in Baku was a farce. According to him, Vardanyan did not testify during the proceedings and only delivered a final statement.

“From the outset, both the charges and the entire trial belonged to the realm of fantasy. The witnesses and testimonies presented resembled a poorly staged performance, often containing contradictory information. Therefore, continuing to participate in the judicial process in Azerbaijan would not yield results,” he said.

According to Arakelyan, the priority at this stage should be intensified international engagement led by the Armenian authorities. However, he argued that such leadership is lacking under the current government and that in some cases the opposite effect is observed.

“Of course, we want to see the return of all our compatriots as soon as possible, but the behavior of this government hardly inspires hope. Only a government that properly protects Armenia’s interests can achieve results on the issue of prisoners,” he noted.

Arakelyan stressed that relying solely on the international community is insufficient and that Armenia must present a clear and active position with international partners. In his view, the silence of official Yerevan regarding the trials in Baku is dangerous, as Azerbaijan is attempting to portray these individuals not as prisoners but as criminals.

“Azerbaijan claims it has no prisoners, while Armenia must demonstrate to the world that these accusations are false and that these people are exclusively prisoners,” he emphasized.

According to Arakelyan, Armenia’s current policy in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations often lacks a counter-position. He said Yerevan should more clearly formulate and defend its state interests, both on the prisoner issue and in other sensitive areas.